Captain, dethroned unceremoniously, pulls out of a big tour. Inexperienced side, with four debutants, gets rolled over in the opening game. You would have expected New Zealand to collectively scrap after that, you would have expected them to compete. What you wouldn't have expected was a solo riposte so dominating and so explosive that it turned New Zealand around from an eight-wicket loss to an eight-wicket win within a couple of days.

In hindsight, it probably helped that Martin Guptill was not scarred by the thrashing New Zealand received in Durban, having missed that game with a stomach bug. He came out a fiercely determined man in East London. Nothing could stop him tonight. He had the power, he had the timing, he had the focus. And even fate was on his side. A couple of catches went down, by Robin Peterson, with Guptill on 62 and 89, a couple of close leg-before shouts were not given, he was caught off a no-ball. And Guptill continued clubbing six after six.

He needed to find the boundary off the last ball of the game, to take his side to victory. He did, swatting Rory Kleinveldt to the cover rope. And also moved from 97 to 101, becoming only the second man after Richard Levi to make a hundred while chasing in a Twenty20 international.

Guptill's assault was so thorough it needed his partners to just hang around at the other end, which they managed to do. He had partnerships of 76 and 73 with Rob Nicol and Brendon McCullum, their contributions being 25 and 17. New Zealand were handed an asking-rate of just under nine, and throughout the innings, Guptill never allowed it to go over 11 - it touched that mark only for the final over. Whenever it did threaten to escalate, a Guptill six was always around the corner.

Smart stats

Martin Guptill's century is the ninth in Twenty20 internationals and the third by a New Zealand batsman. Brendon McCullum is the only player to score two centuries.

Guptill's strike rate of 146.37 is the lowest for a 100-plus score in Twenty20 internationals. However, the strike rate is the highest for a fifty-plus score by a New Zealand batsman against South Africa.

The target of 169 is the second-highest chased by New Zealand in Twenty20 internationals. It is also the highest target chased by any team against South Africa.

For only the second time, New Zealand managed two fifty-plus partnerships for the first and second wickets. The first occasion came against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2011.

Doug Bracewell's 3 for 33 is the fourth-best bowling performance by a New Zealand bowler against South Africa in Twenty20 matches.

Guptill began by cutting and punching Kleinveldt for successive boundaries. Soon, he was launching Morne Morkel for six and thumping the spinners, who found it difficult with some dew around. He was particularly severe on the debutant left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso, who he carted for three sixes and two fours. Guptill's strategy was simple - he mostly slog-swept and swung down the ground, adjusting to sweep or hitting straighter when needed to. He was able to sustain that hitting for 69 deliveries, with the final stroke bringing an exultant release of emotion.

South Africa had posted what seemed to be a challenging score. Henry Davids and Faf du Plessis reached half-centuries on either side of a 52-minute interruption due to one of the floodlight towers conking off. The break reduced the match to 19 overs per side, and raised the target for New Zealand to 169.

McCullum had chosen to bat in Durban, and New Zealand had self-destructed their way to 86. This time he put South Africa in, but to New Zealand's dismay, the hosts' batting followed the same pattern it had in Durban. Levi had his eleventh failure in 13 international innings, after being dropped on 2, but Davids and du Plessis were hardly bothered.

Davids, dropped by James Franklin on 36, dominated the 68-run partnership with du Plessis, who did the same during his 79-run stand with David Miller. Davids may be turning 33 next month, but in his second international game, he displayed an uncomplicated, fresh approach as he looked to hit mostly down the ground.

Nathan McCullum was the only bowler to tie the batsmen own as he flighted the ball and also varied his pace greatly. It took a spectacular catch to remove Davids as Jimmy Neesham sprinted back several yards from mid-off, dived full-length, caught the lofted ball and managed to stop himself before the rope to complete the stunner.

Du Plessis took over now, slamming boundaries through his favoured extra cover. Miller, too, began powering the fast bowlers for boundaries over extra cover, before the South African charge was halted by the floodlight failure in the 17th over. There had been issues with one of the towers in the previous international match played at the venue as well, in January this year against Sri Lanka. Both du Plessis and Miller carried on in the same vein on resumption, before Guptill took over for the night.

New minnows New Zealand are clearly declining in Cricket. They were lucky to win the last match when that floodlight failure happened because South Africa were set for a massive score only to lose momentum.

POSTED BY
Min2000
on | December 26, 2012, 3:08 GMT

If young players like Guptill and Williamson can live up to their potential, backed up by Ryder, Taylor, McCullum & Watling, NZ's test batting woes could become a thing of the past. Well done guys -- great win.

POSTED BY
SeanoN
on | December 25, 2012, 14:54 GMT

Honestly as a SA supporter I am annoyed by our selections including our relegation of T20 to second division by moving Domingo into the role of coach... We have other more talented and capable players to select from yet we put these mismatched club level idiots together to play for the Proteas...

Maclaren is like Benkenstein, not sure how to take a chance in the national side properly. Phangiso is an emotional selection. Throw out that rubbish. Berhadien is average and has a good innings every 8 innings or so... Kleinveldt for me is lucky to be there against the likes of Hardus Viljoen and the unlucky Morris. Miller's role needs to be defined. Tell him that he is the 6 hitter and mould him into Klusener. He has the shot selection. Levi's fun in the sun is up. Send him back to franchise cricket to tighten up his technique.

POSTED BY
SurlyCynic
on | December 25, 2012, 9:19 GMT

Neuen: The D/L score has to be adjusted up because the team batting second know the innings has been reduced and can plan accordingly. Imagine you keep wickets in hand to go big in the last 5 overs, then a (longer) power failure stops the innings in the 15th over. You miss out on the slog at the end. The team batting second would know from the start they only have to bat for 15 overs so can go big from over 10. So it's fair to bump the score up a bit, only by 4 in this case as only 1 over was lost.

POSTED BY
on | December 25, 2012, 8:28 GMT

Petersen dropp an easy catch , Guptil makes a century and Mclaren bowls a no ball and the rain change the game chase...so that is the summary..but the Black caps are still not that good... sorry again Faf was brilliant with the bat...fielding let us down and Mclaren is not on his game but I believe he is still better than Parnell...

POSTED BY
Neuen
on | December 25, 2012, 8:00 GMT

Clearly this shows D/L is a fail in T20. 169 to win when the opposition scored only 165 in same amount of overs? Cmon ICC you gotta be kidding me.

POSTED BY
on | December 24, 2012, 19:02 GMT

People getting cut over the loss need to chill. No ones saying NZ is better than SA. Clearly the world of cricket knows this is true.

One can only hope to imagine what a fully fit and equipped NZ side could do though. Guptill, McCullum, Ryder, Taylor, Williamson, Nicol, Brownlie, Vettori, Bracewell, Southee and Wagner/Bolt

Bowling obviously to open up with Southee/ what ever left hand pacer is picked followed by Bracewell and vettori and Ryder, Nicol and Williamson with a bit of part time (Test match team of course).

POSTED BY
Noggin-ball
on | December 24, 2012, 15:37 GMT

Martin took a gutpill and got the runs!

POSTED BY
Supa_SAFFA
on | December 24, 2012, 13:00 GMT

The conditions definitely counted against South Africa. New Zealand may have been found wanting if a few wayward deliveries could have been re-taken with a dry ball. But that's life. SA just has to suck it up and pray that Guptil's knock was a Levi-ish once-off.

POSTED BY
on | December 24, 2012, 12:21 GMT

Simply one of the best innings you will see in T20.

POSTED BY
TheRisingTeam
on | December 26, 2012, 15:13 GMT

New minnows New Zealand are clearly declining in Cricket. They were lucky to win the last match when that floodlight failure happened because South Africa were set for a massive score only to lose momentum.

POSTED BY
Min2000
on | December 26, 2012, 3:08 GMT

If young players like Guptill and Williamson can live up to their potential, backed up by Ryder, Taylor, McCullum & Watling, NZ's test batting woes could become a thing of the past. Well done guys -- great win.

POSTED BY
SeanoN
on | December 25, 2012, 14:54 GMT

Honestly as a SA supporter I am annoyed by our selections including our relegation of T20 to second division by moving Domingo into the role of coach... We have other more talented and capable players to select from yet we put these mismatched club level idiots together to play for the Proteas...

Maclaren is like Benkenstein, not sure how to take a chance in the national side properly. Phangiso is an emotional selection. Throw out that rubbish. Berhadien is average and has a good innings every 8 innings or so... Kleinveldt for me is lucky to be there against the likes of Hardus Viljoen and the unlucky Morris. Miller's role needs to be defined. Tell him that he is the 6 hitter and mould him into Klusener. He has the shot selection. Levi's fun in the sun is up. Send him back to franchise cricket to tighten up his technique.

POSTED BY
SurlyCynic
on | December 25, 2012, 9:19 GMT

Neuen: The D/L score has to be adjusted up because the team batting second know the innings has been reduced and can plan accordingly. Imagine you keep wickets in hand to go big in the last 5 overs, then a (longer) power failure stops the innings in the 15th over. You miss out on the slog at the end. The team batting second would know from the start they only have to bat for 15 overs so can go big from over 10. So it's fair to bump the score up a bit, only by 4 in this case as only 1 over was lost.

POSTED BY
on | December 25, 2012, 8:28 GMT

Petersen dropp an easy catch , Guptil makes a century and Mclaren bowls a no ball and the rain change the game chase...so that is the summary..but the Black caps are still not that good... sorry again Faf was brilliant with the bat...fielding let us down and Mclaren is not on his game but I believe he is still better than Parnell...

POSTED BY
Neuen
on | December 25, 2012, 8:00 GMT

Clearly this shows D/L is a fail in T20. 169 to win when the opposition scored only 165 in same amount of overs? Cmon ICC you gotta be kidding me.

POSTED BY
on | December 24, 2012, 19:02 GMT

People getting cut over the loss need to chill. No ones saying NZ is better than SA. Clearly the world of cricket knows this is true.

One can only hope to imagine what a fully fit and equipped NZ side could do though. Guptill, McCullum, Ryder, Taylor, Williamson, Nicol, Brownlie, Vettori, Bracewell, Southee and Wagner/Bolt

Bowling obviously to open up with Southee/ what ever left hand pacer is picked followed by Bracewell and vettori and Ryder, Nicol and Williamson with a bit of part time (Test match team of course).

POSTED BY
Noggin-ball
on | December 24, 2012, 15:37 GMT

Martin took a gutpill and got the runs!

POSTED BY
Supa_SAFFA
on | December 24, 2012, 13:00 GMT

The conditions definitely counted against South Africa. New Zealand may have been found wanting if a few wayward deliveries could have been re-taken with a dry ball. But that's life. SA just has to suck it up and pray that Guptil's knock was a Levi-ish once-off.

POSTED BY
on | December 24, 2012, 12:21 GMT

Simply one of the best innings you will see in T20.

POSTED BY
quittthewhinging
on | December 24, 2012, 11:26 GMT

I hadn't had the opportunity to see Miller play before and I was quite impressed. He plays proper cricket shots and hits the ball hard. Also his work in the field was excellent. I think he should definitely be in the frame for that #6 batting spot in the SA Test team.

with Levi being the only other batsmen to score a ton and successfully chase the total down, NZ inflict revenge in a special way.

POSTED BY
Cricket_fan85
on | December 24, 2012, 11:01 GMT

enough is enough ..lets respect and appreciate the innings played by Martin Guptill.. let us not do postmortem on what NZC had done in the past.. while I strongly believe that their best players Taylor, Vettori and Southee are not there in the line up with Taylor " removed" from captaincy, this win could come as a boost for black caps .. I enjoyed this match .. guy was at his best and he is a great asset to his team if his fitness levels are high .

Jeez.. his hitting was something special .. I hope NZC cricket would have the common sense to give new guys decent run before sitting and reviewing their performances and start dropping them .. still waiting for a decent MCCullum innings for over an year now .. is he the best captain .. I dont know .. I will leave it to people who follow NewZealand cricket closely .. I cannot think of anybody who did a great job except Stephen Fleming .. Vettori was OK and Taylor as a captain was a JOKE!!!

POSTED BY
on | December 24, 2012, 10:04 GMT

NZ hardly wins nowadays but this was a cracker of a match and what an innings Guptil. The other day India lost to England A team on the last ball and today SA lost in similar fashion.

POSTED BY
quittthewhinging
on | December 24, 2012, 10:00 GMT

I agree with what someone here said about Faf's tactics when the last ball came to be bowled. Not much nous. He should have had as many as fielders as possible on the boundary, especially at long off and long on. The strengths and weaknesses of some of the debutantes in each team will be clearer after the next match. Can they stand up? I read somewhere that SA have 12 players remaining of the original squad. I just hope that this doesn't mean that that perennial failure Justin Ontong gets a game. With both him and Levi in the team it will be like playing with both hands tied behind the back!

with Levi being the only other batsmen to score a ton and successfully chase the total down, NZ inflict revenge in a special way.

POSTED BY
satish619chandar
on | December 24, 2012, 9:56 GMT

@SATID : Doesn't it sound exciting? You have to play well every day to win every T20 game. Don't say it as "Even Zimbabwe can win" T20 gives chance to even Zimbabwe to win. T20 provides equal battle field and every team is equal there. Not degrading tests but for small teams, T20 will be a better chance to upset than the longer formats.

POSTED BY
quittthewhinging
on | December 24, 2012, 9:38 GMT

Excellent innings from Guptill. And NZ showed determination all through especially in the field. I have sympathy for SA though; I had the misfortune to grow up in East London and believe me that mist off the sea with the dew factor as well would have been no picnic. The lack of vision through the mist didn't quite come through on TV. To take catches from high in the sky would have been difficult indeed. Having said that I do think Peterson should have left the second Guptill catch to the w/k who was standing about 2/3 meters away. Someone said de Kock needed to sharpen up his wicketkeeping; I don't get that as he did all that was asked of him. I did wonder why though he wasn't wearing a helmet. Faf seems to be showing what my criticism of Taylor as a captain is, namely, being too soft. After that second missed catch of Peterson, Graeme Smith wouldn't have been smiling and making circles in the air; he might not have said anything but his face would have told a different story.

POSTED BY
PDV1
on | December 24, 2012, 9:19 GMT

Great knock from Guptill under a lot of pressure. Can't quite understand SA's selection policy, though. It is really necessary to rest the likes of De Villiers, Amla and Kallis for the entire T20 series? Until the Proteas start taking T20 seriously they will never have the consistency they have at Test level. That said, well done NZ for showing great character. Should be a good decider.

POSTED BY
on | December 24, 2012, 8:09 GMT

great innings,,,one man army

POSTED BY
Woodsy71
on | December 24, 2012, 7:28 GMT

Well done lads!!! A Black Caps victory to put in my Santa sack. Now thats a Merry Xmas indeed......Martin Guptill, you complete me.

POSTED BY
SuperSharky
on | December 24, 2012, 7:20 GMT

I've seen the hi-lites of this match and it was a great match to watch. Brilliant innings from Guptill.

POSTED BY
on | December 24, 2012, 7:09 GMT

Love how that Guptill talked to Ross Taylor before the match - and took Taylor's advice - must annoy Brendon and Coach who pushed him out.... Good work Taylor, your advice worked!!

POSTED BY
Newlandsfaithful
on | December 24, 2012, 6:59 GMT

Well done NZ. That said SA T20 selection policy has always been to take an odd collection of bits and piece players that are not quite up to the grade and to "blood" them in T20. Never quite understand.

POSTED BY
Grav1ty
on | December 24, 2012, 6:20 GMT

What a match! It's been a while since SA were involved in a nail-biter. A pity about the floodlight interruption which robbed us of 2 overs (1 each innings).

NZ put up a woeful display in their first match, can't help think they missed the experience that a seasoned international player brings - not just for his own role but the composure he brings to the younger players around him. Well done Martin Guptill! B McCullum, on the other hand, seemed to struggle with the bat somewhat.

Now we get a chance to see how the young players perform with the pressure on in the Boxing Day decider.

POSTED BY
on | December 24, 2012, 6:05 GMT

Excellant T20 cricket from Guptil. Kepp up your hardwork. All the very best to Guptil & NZ

POSTED BY
drnaveed
on | December 24, 2012, 5:49 GMT

it was a great innings to watch , totally a one man show.one man simply demolished the whole SA bowling. afridi should learn from martin Guptill, how to play in the air and SAFE,away from any fielder, which he does play, but straight into the hands of the fielders. well played GUPTILL.

POSTED BY
TNAmarkFromIndia
on | December 24, 2012, 5:32 GMT

Guptill confuses me. He is a batsman of great talent and potential, but sometimes he just looks so ordinary. He has faced problems in the subcontinent, but on bouncy pitches sometimes he looks dangerous and threatening. When on song, he's a treat to watch, but he's rarely on song.

POSTED BY
Patchmaster
on | December 24, 2012, 5:17 GMT

I love the Black Caps !!!!!!! What a victory, as an NZ fan it was brilliant, I bet Ryder and Taylor wish they'd been playing ! Some good young players coming through as well.

POSTED BY
Beige_and_blue
on | December 24, 2012, 4:52 GMT

Can anyone tell me why Jimmy Neesham is in the NZ side? has he been selected as a specialist lower-order batsman? If he has in fact been selected as a promising all rounder, why has he only been given one ball to bowl in two games so far?

Fair enough selecting these young guys, to 'get some international experience' but experience for an all rounder includes bowling to international strength batsmen. if you pick them, give them a go, if not, select someone who might contribute more to a team victory.
As far as I can see, Neeham has been selected as a specialist fielder, and to be fair he has looked to be the best in the NZ team to this point in the tour, but can we afford to select specialist fielders in this day and age? (wicket keepers excluded, and even then they have to be able to perform with the bat)

POSTED BY
Fydd
on | December 24, 2012, 3:49 GMT

Great win for NZ and Guptill (Ismail, you mean he played a blinder, not blunder!).

But some strange cricket in the field from South Africa. Du Plessis faffed it (a colloquialism that means stuffed up or made a mistake) big time by bringing in his offside field (apart from long off) for the final ball when four was needed. Surely with four needed you just protect the boundary. Guptill just scooped the ball enough to get over the ring fielders and to the cover boundary.

Plus all the dropped catches. Some of them should have been easy-ish, even given the fog. But people could not seem to even get near the high ball.

Can't help thinking South Africa gave the game away a bit (i'm a NZer, just in case anybody is wondering), even given Guptill's sterling performance.

POSTED BY
on | December 24, 2012, 3:29 GMT

What a innings , Guptil played last night. it was a interesting match in my life

POSTED BY
Prabhash1985
on | December 24, 2012, 2:48 GMT

Congratulations... Keep going... Both sides are sooo talented... I love the South African side, but yesterday I supported New Zealand. Because they need a recovery. They are good players. It was mid night here, but yet I watched the match. Hope NZ can keep going with this pace. Beating SA is incredibly hard.

POSTED BY
on | December 24, 2012, 2:08 GMT

congrats nz always a fighting team way to go

POSTED BY
Lermy
on | December 24, 2012, 1:58 GMT

Despite this win there must still be concern over NZs ability to field anywhere near their strongest team. Neither their bowling or batting line-up bears any resemblance to what should be the first choice combination, and for a country with such limited depth it's a major worry. Hopefully this win will give the current players a confidence boost. They will need it to continue to compete with any SA side. Even if they had lost on the last ball, at least the closeness of this match made for a much better spectacle than the first game! One of the NZ players was so nervous he was eating his bat handle in the dug-out towards the end!!! I wasn't much better watching at home!

POSTED BY
Sinhaya
on | December 24, 2012, 0:56 GMT

What a brilliant catch by Jimmy Neesham! Great to see NZ win indeed. Hope the series will be exciting.

POSTED BY
ttkn
on | December 24, 2012, 0:36 GMT

interesting to see how one or two blokes are trying to underestimate this magical NZ victory over south africa.true that T20 is more susceptible to upsets (such as ZIM winning) but show me on how many occasions have upsets taken place even in t20s. he he he.. u won't b able to show too many.

POSTED BY
regofpicton
on | December 24, 2012, 0:24 GMT

I fear Guptill's days in the side are numbered. Not only is he showing form, but he actually acknowledged Ross Taylor in his comments when accepting the Man of the Match award. No Mike Hesson coached side has room for such a person.

Looking on the bright side, the next superbly informed dispatch from NZCricketFan1 cannot be far away . . .

POSTED BY
TommytuckerSaffa
on | December 24, 2012, 0:11 GMT

Great comeback by the kiwis and an exciting game to watch. SA could've caught better i thought having shelled 3 chances but conditions were much tougher for the team bowling 2nd due to fog and heavy dew. David's looks the business and Faff just continues to surprise and please everytime he bats...go proteas !!!!!

POSTED BY
BackfootNossyfan
on | December 24, 2012, 0:04 GMT

Test cricket is the form where you immerse yourself in the game and its intricacies.
ODI cricket is the form where you appreciate the intricacies of the game whilst not spending five days.
T20 gets the adrenaline going.

Betcha none of the kiwi supporters could have a lie-in after that one. Best T20 I have watched in a long time. Guptill's determination in his innings and the emotion he showed after the last boundary is what the game is all about, even though the shorter form is more about excitement. Cricket is a game of determination.

Guppy was obviously playing for Roscoe and I hope the team fall in behind his form, because he's going to have a golden summer.

Happy Christmas, BLACKCAPS.

POSTED BY
Greatest_Game
on | December 23, 2012, 23:35 GMT

Great comeback by NZ, and a blinder by Guptill. A deserved win after SA dropped the game - twice! Hats off to the Black Caps for avoiding the dead rubber & keeping the series alive.

Hopefully this will be a wake up call for the SA selectors who don't seem to grasp that Levi is a liability - a walking wicket. He was found out quick enough in the IPL and at the World T20, and is never going to repeat his one lucky innings. He has had more than his fair share of chances, and is using up opportunities for other deserving players. Davids is looking good for an extended run, and Miller made a good return. De Kock's keeping needs to sharpen up a bit if he is to be given longer term consideration. No idea why Albie is not playing. He has never been given a chance to bat for a full innings. Rather see him opening than Levi.

Hoping for another tight game like this to finish the series.

POSTED BY
on | December 23, 2012, 23:29 GMT

Hope to see some more wins from the Kiwis.

POSTED BY
on | December 23, 2012, 23:22 GMT

I can't understand with NZ requiring 4 to win off the last ball that SA didn't have men on the boundary. Was it poor captaincy that cost them the game?

POSTED BY
kiwicricketnut
on | December 23, 2012, 23:04 GMT

That was beautifull, what a chase, what a game of cricket, all the purest's out there need to relax and take t20 cricket for what it is which is pure entertainment, if you were not entertained by that check your pulse you're probably dead. i've been critical of guptil lately scrathing round the crease, couldn't buy a run of late but today we seen him play like he did when he first came on the scene, fearless! he has all the shots and showed us what he can do now i hope he makes it a regular thing. Well done guptil that was world class.

POSTED BY
sirviv
on | December 23, 2012, 23:03 GMT

wow, well done NZ. Puuling it together after the last T20, really happy for you, although im supporting the Saffas. I understand Kiwis are in a rough patch with the whole Taylor incident sadly, but Guptill definitely showed his maturity at the top. More top knocks from him should really give the rest the confidence and belief to make this series exiting. Looking forward to it!!!

POSTED BY
SurlyCynic
on | December 23, 2012, 22:52 GMT

Well played Kiwis, entertaining game in the end. Hope the PE game is a day game as (besides the light fiasco) the mist and dew gets out of control at night on the coast and spinners have no chance. Anyway, great innings by Guptill.

POSTED BY
Glenn10
on | December 23, 2012, 22:51 GMT

Great win. I thought I must have been the last supporter NZ had left after the last match. It's only T20 so I'm not getting too excited, however, a win is a win and could the unthinkable happen with NZ winning the series on Boxing day.
Bracewell's average form continues despite him picking up late wickets, and based on this he should be replaced by another spinner..... is there one left in the squad? If not Boult has to come in. Why is Needsham there if they are not going to bowl him?? Give him a go, he couldn't bowl worse rubbish than Bracewell... could he? However, hats off to Guptil, a fantastic knock.

POSTED BY
Jordanious77
on | December 23, 2012, 22:36 GMT

@junglelistposse Don't mark my words but im pretty sure Brendan McCullum has scored 2 T20 100's and the other belongs to Chris Gale. I may be wrong, though.

POSTED BY
on | December 23, 2012, 22:20 GMT

Atleast credit to be given to NZL they came back fighting Guptill played a blunder, no need to compare T20 with Test Cricket at the moment they are playing t20 let everyone enjoy the game

POSTED BY
junglistposse
on | December 23, 2012, 22:16 GMT

Wow! Martin Guptil is only the fourth batsmen to score a century and carry his bat through an innings in T20I.

can you name the others?

POSTED BY
Erebus26
on | December 23, 2012, 22:14 GMT

Great comeback from this inexperienced Black Caps side, as I feared the worst after the hammering they took in the first game. Brilliant knock by Guptill but he's got to transfer the form he shows in limited overs cricket into the longer form of the game. He's got the talent but maybe not the temperament, and I fear that his technique maybe lacking against good short pitched bowling (which we don't see as much of in ODI and T20 cricket).

POSTED BY
Jordanious77
on | December 23, 2012, 22:12 GMT

Granted T20 is simply that, just another T20 match. I can't help but feel amazing over NZ's win. Guptil FINALLY, after so long, showing some great form. And the Blackcaps ability to grind out the match without choking..

I've cried so many times because NZ have failed to close out a match. Take the 2 matches in the T20 world cup where they went to the super over as an example. Or in the series decider when south africa toured NZ last. This is a match where we closed out a win in a fighting style!

As little as you can read into T20 because 1 good performance can win on a day, what this win represents is far more important than just another T20 win.. Even if you look at it for the pureness of our openers not getting out for a duck...

When was the last time a NZ opener actually did anything? let alone win us a match.

The Blackcaps have now won 3 of their last 4 matches. A Test against Sri lanka, Thrashed South Africa B, and now grinding out a win against South Africa.

The sun is here

POSTED BY
on | December 23, 2012, 22:11 GMT

I have seen Pakistan winning against India in 90s, with last ball boundaries. Guptill really did a Pakistany blast in style!

POSTED BY
EnglishCricket
on | December 23, 2012, 21:56 GMT

@SATID - Well said man especially your last point even Netherlands beat England before in that format. Though T20 is exciting and has its own place, ODIs and especially Tests are the real games of Cricket and must be protected at all costs.

POSTED BY
SATID
on | December 23, 2012, 21:47 GMT

T20 a great platform to expose new young talent but honestly who gives a toss about T20 cricket. Zim can even win on a given day.

No featured comments at the moment.

POSTED BY
SATID
on | December 23, 2012, 21:47 GMT

T20 a great platform to expose new young talent but honestly who gives a toss about T20 cricket. Zim can even win on a given day.

POSTED BY
EnglishCricket
on | December 23, 2012, 21:56 GMT

@SATID - Well said man especially your last point even Netherlands beat England before in that format. Though T20 is exciting and has its own place, ODIs and especially Tests are the real games of Cricket and must be protected at all costs.

POSTED BY
on | December 23, 2012, 22:11 GMT

I have seen Pakistan winning against India in 90s, with last ball boundaries. Guptill really did a Pakistany blast in style!

POSTED BY
Jordanious77
on | December 23, 2012, 22:12 GMT

Granted T20 is simply that, just another T20 match. I can't help but feel amazing over NZ's win. Guptil FINALLY, after so long, showing some great form. And the Blackcaps ability to grind out the match without choking..

I've cried so many times because NZ have failed to close out a match. Take the 2 matches in the T20 world cup where they went to the super over as an example. Or in the series decider when south africa toured NZ last. This is a match where we closed out a win in a fighting style!

As little as you can read into T20 because 1 good performance can win on a day, what this win represents is far more important than just another T20 win.. Even if you look at it for the pureness of our openers not getting out for a duck...

When was the last time a NZ opener actually did anything? let alone win us a match.

The Blackcaps have now won 3 of their last 4 matches. A Test against Sri lanka, Thrashed South Africa B, and now grinding out a win against South Africa.

The sun is here

POSTED BY
Erebus26
on | December 23, 2012, 22:14 GMT

Great comeback from this inexperienced Black Caps side, as I feared the worst after the hammering they took in the first game. Brilliant knock by Guptill but he's got to transfer the form he shows in limited overs cricket into the longer form of the game. He's got the talent but maybe not the temperament, and I fear that his technique maybe lacking against good short pitched bowling (which we don't see as much of in ODI and T20 cricket).

POSTED BY
junglistposse
on | December 23, 2012, 22:16 GMT

Wow! Martin Guptil is only the fourth batsmen to score a century and carry his bat through an innings in T20I.

can you name the others?

POSTED BY
on | December 23, 2012, 22:20 GMT

Atleast credit to be given to NZL they came back fighting Guptill played a blunder, no need to compare T20 with Test Cricket at the moment they are playing t20 let everyone enjoy the game

POSTED BY
Jordanious77
on | December 23, 2012, 22:36 GMT

@junglelistposse Don't mark my words but im pretty sure Brendan McCullum has scored 2 T20 100's and the other belongs to Chris Gale. I may be wrong, though.

POSTED BY
Glenn10
on | December 23, 2012, 22:51 GMT

Great win. I thought I must have been the last supporter NZ had left after the last match. It's only T20 so I'm not getting too excited, however, a win is a win and could the unthinkable happen with NZ winning the series on Boxing day.
Bracewell's average form continues despite him picking up late wickets, and based on this he should be replaced by another spinner..... is there one left in the squad? If not Boult has to come in. Why is Needsham there if they are not going to bowl him?? Give him a go, he couldn't bowl worse rubbish than Bracewell... could he? However, hats off to Guptil, a fantastic knock.

POSTED BY
SurlyCynic
on | December 23, 2012, 22:52 GMT

Well played Kiwis, entertaining game in the end. Hope the PE game is a day game as (besides the light fiasco) the mist and dew gets out of control at night on the coast and spinners have no chance. Anyway, great innings by Guptill.